Clamp



y 5, 1953 a. w. HENRIKSON ET AL 2,637,081

CLAMP Filed April 21. 1952 2 SHEETS.SHEET 1 l I I 6 I INVENTORS 1 Ever m ienrika n Wall-er E. Nordmarlt ATTORNEY May 5, 1953 B. w. HENRIKSON ETAL 2,637,081

CLAMP Filed April 21. 1952 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 INVENTORS Bror WHetLrik-S' H J Wall-er Nordmarli:

BYW

ATTORNEY Patented May 5, 1953 UNITED-STATES PATENT OFFICE CLAMP Bror W. Henrikson and Walter E. Nordmark, Grand Rapids, Mich., assignors to American Seating Company, Grand Rapids, Mich., a corporation of New Jersey Application April 21, 1952, Serial No. 283,306

3 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to clamps and more particularly to clamps for uniting folding chairs to form sections of two, three or more chairs.

The primary objects of the invention are to provide an improved clamp for securing folding chairs together, to provide such a clamp which may be quickly and easily applied to folding chairs or removed therefrom thus to facilitate connecting and disconnecting the chairs, to provide such a clamp which is of simple and eco nomical construction, and to provide a clamp of general utility for securing together two elon gated elements in substantial parallelism.

An illustrative embodiment of theqinvention is shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a perspective view of two folding chairs united to form a two-chair section by means of the new clamps;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary detail perspective v=' view of one of the clamps as applied to adjacent legs of the chairs;

Figure 3 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken on line 3- 3 of Figure .1; and

Figures 4, 5 and 6 are vertical sectional views illustrating steps in the application of the-clamps to the chairs, the plane of section being generally indicated by the lines 66 of Figures 2 and 3.

Referring now in detail to these drawings, the folding chairs H), II illustrated in Figure 1 are of conventional Y-type tubular metal frame construction, comprising front frames bent to form elongated front leg elements l2, l3, I4, I5 and supports for chair backs 16, IT, elongated rear leg elements I8, [9, 2!], 2i pivotally connected to the front legs respectively, and seats 22, 23 pivotally supported on the front and rear leg elements in such a manner that the chairs may be folded for storage or unfolded for use as shown.

It is sometimes found desirable to unite such folding chairs in sections of two or three or more thus facilitating handling, and the clamps of the present invention may be utilized to that end. The chairs are first placed with their elongated leg elements in substantial parallelism and, as shown, three clamps are preferably used to connect the adjacent sides of adjoining chairs, one clamp 24 being applied near the upper ends of the adjacent front leg elements [3, M, another clamp 25 near the lower ends of said front leg elements, and the third clamp 26 near the lower ends of the adjacent rear leg elements 19, 2B. The clamps 24, 25, 26 are identical in construction and therefore only one of them (the one designated 25 which connects the elongated front leg elements I 3, 149 has been illustrated in Figures 2 through 6.

The clamp 25 comprises a pair of generally cylindrical elongated clamping members formed from lengths of metal rod and connected together in substantial parallel-ism, one of said clamping members being designated 2; and the second being designated 23. A hook member 29 is rotatably mounted on the clamping member 27 at the approximate middle thereof, and this hook member 29 extends in the general direction of the second clamping member 28 and terminates in a hook portion 30 adapted to engage said second clamping member. A locking member Si is formed of sheet metal bent to form :spaced apart side plates 32, 33 and a connecting web 34. This locking member is rotatably mounted on the second clamping member 28 which passes through bearings the side plates 32, .33, and these side plates straddle the hook member .29 and are 'pivotally connected thereto .by means of a rivet 35. After these parts of the clamp are all assembled, the :metal of the rodform clamping member is upset as at points designated at 36 .to limit relative sliding movement of the clamping members, and the end portions of both clamping members are shaped to form jaws 3'1, 38, 39, 4nfor the engagement of the elongated chair leg elements therebetween.

The clamp is applied to the elongated substantially parallel chair leg elements I3, M by passing the first clamping element 21 between said elements and engaging jaws 31, 38 against the rear surfaces of said elements I3, M, as seen in Figure 4. The locking element 3: is then lowered manually to its position shown in Figure 5 wherein the jaws 39, 40 engage the front surfaces of the elements [3, l4. Thereafter a tool such as the screwdriver ll is inserted into the space between the side plates 32, 33 of the locking member 3i, and downward leverage of the tool against the locking members web 34 causes the tools end to bear upwardly against the clamping member 28 to draw the latter into engagement with the hook members hooked end 30. During this movement the clamping members are free to rotate so that they assume the opposed relationship shown in Figure 6, and the clamp is finally cinched in position by drawing the pivot 35 downwardly beyond a plane through the longitudinal axes of the clamping members. The elongated leg elements I3, M are thus securely clamped between the opposite paired end jaws respectively of the clamping members. The clamps may be removed from the leg elements by employing a tool in a reverse manner to that described.

The clamp has here been illustrated and described in connection with the uniting of folding chairs but manifestly it may find many other applications of a more or less general nature, and while but one specific embodiment of the invention has been herein shown and described, it will be understood that numerous details may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of the invention as the same is defined by the following claims.

We claim:

1. A clamp for clamping together a pair of elongated elements in substantial parallelism, comprising: a pair of generally cylindrical elongated clamping members connected together in substantial parallelism and adapted for disposition on opposite sides of the elonagted elements transversely thereof and with said elongated elements extending between the opposite paired ends respectively of said clamping members; a hook member rotatably mounted on the first of said clamping members at the latters approximate middle and extending in the general direction of the second clamping member; and a locking member rotatably mounted on the second clamping member at the latters approximate .middle and pivotally connected to said hook member whereby turning movement of the looking member engages the hook member with said second clamping member to secure the clamping members together with the elongated elements clamped therebetween.

2. A clamp for clamping together a pair of elongated elements in substantial parallelism, comprising: a pair of generally cylindrical elongated clamping members connected together in substantial parallelism and adapted for disposition on opposite sides of the elongated elements transversely thereof and with said elongated elements extending between the opposite paired ends respectively of said clamping members; a hook member rotatably mounted on the first of said clamping members at the latters approximate middle and extending in the general direction of the second clamping member; and a locking member rotatably mounted on the second clamping member at the latters approximate middle and pivotally connected to said hook member whereby turning movement of the locking member engages the hook member with said second clamping member to secure the clamping members together with the elongated elements clamped therebetween, the end portions of said clamping members being shaped to form jaws for the engagement therebetween of said elongated elements.

3. A clamp for clamping together a pair of elongated elements in substantial parallelism, comprising: a pair of elongated clamping members connected together in substantial parallelism and adapted for disposition on opposite sides of the elongated elements transversely thereof and with said elongated elements extending between the opposite paired ends respectively of said clamping members; a hook member mounted on the first of said clamping members at the latters approximate middle and extending in the general direction of the second clamping member; and a locking member mounted on the second clamping member at the latters approximate middle and pivotally connected to said hook member whereby turning movement of the locking member engages the hook member with said second clamping member to secure the clamping members together with the elongated elements clamped therebetween, said locking member comprising spaced apart side plates connected by a web, the side plates being disposed on opposite sides of the hook member and forming therebetween a space for the insertion of a tool whereby leverage against said web bears the tools end against said second clamping member to draw the latter into engagement with the hook member.

BROR W. HENRIKSON. WALTER E. NORDMARK.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 7 Number 

